This originally started out as a review of March…it is now mid-May so lets just call it a “Spring Update”. Here is what we’ve been up to. (If I remember correctly.)

Andy and I have been dreaming (well mostly me actually) about remodeling our house and making some necessary changes to make it more livable for our family since we moved in seven and a half years ago. We finally took the plunge this year by hiring an architect to help draw up plans to address some of the issues in our home. We aren’t sure of the timeline for construction just yet but we are *hoping* we can kick off the work this summer.

Property CornerDoors, Cabinets, Countertops

Our friend Catherine came to visit us at the beginning of the March. Catherine used to attend church with us at NCCTK, but now lives in Hawaii working for the organization Chosen and Dearly Loved. Chosen and Dearly Loved came along side us financially during Callie’s adoption by providing us with a matching grant; this allowed us to finish funding Callie’s adoption with the help of many of you! Chosen and Dearly Loved continues to provide post adoption support for the families they work with and so Catherine came to visit and see how we were all doing. While she was here she gave Callie a hair cut, which was much needed. And it looks pretty cute, don’t you think?

A huge milestone in March was that my 6 month seizure “anniversary” (?) arrived. Meaning…I can drive again!!! My anti-seziure medication is working very well to prevent seizures and thankfully it is doing so without causing side effects; both are huge blessings! It has been so, so, so nice to be able to drive when I need to. Although sometimes I forget that I can and I start planning out in my mind how I might get to x, y or z and when Andy can stop and pick something up for me…then I remember that I can do it myself!

Callie started preschool locally where she gets to interact with other kiddos her age, practice her speech, increase her language acquisition and focus on a few other things that will help her grow and develop. She is at preschool two times a week, about 5 hours total. She loves going and wakes up asking, “School Day?”. You can see we note all the school days with a yellow school bus on the monthly calendar so she knows what to expect.

Callie and I ventured to Seattle Children’s for a day of clinic visits this March. Most of the appointments were post-surgery follow up appointments. We’d had many appointments added to our schedule that day and so we had to arrive around 8:30 am; which made for an early morning and a long day. But Callie is such a trooper and she handled it all very well. We met with the entire Craniofacial team and everyone was impressed with how well Callie is doing. She has healed well and is thriving. Her hearing has drastically improved, her speech is developing well and she is growing how they’d expect her to. Things went so well that, unless we have concerns, Callie does not have to go return to see the Craniofacial team until one year from now! That is a breath of fresh air!

In March Callie also had her last private speech therapy appointment. Her speech is coming along so well that both her private speech therapist and her speech therapist at Seattle Children’s do not think private speech therapy is necessary(she gets some help from the speech therapist at preschool). They told us that she has no cleft related speech concerns; she can make all sounds, doesn’t have air escaping through her nose, she doesn’t sound too nasal-y, etc! We were told that at this point Callie only needs time to catch up and they expect her speech to develop normally. How amazing is that?!? I never imagined that I would hear that! I truly anticipated that Callie would be receiving private speech services for years and years to come.

Her speech is in fact becoming more and more clear, she is learning more words all the time and understanding what we are saying! She has also learned how to say “no!” which was not an easy word for her to speak before and boy-oh-boy is she putting it into practice. ;o)

School Day!

The kids have been asking to go to the Burlington Children’s Museum for a long time and we haven’t made it work because of illness, weather, my driving limitations, etc. But we were finally able to go mid-March and they had a blast.

Captain Luke aboard the boatCallie and Luke operating the crane at the museum

After the museum we took the kids out for lunch. Callie made it clear that she was pretty worn out.

She didn’t actually fall asleep, but apparently the children’s museum was exhausting.

Another super exciting thing that happened in March….. Eli lost his very first tooth!!

He pulled it out himself one night while laying in bed getting ready to sleep. He had been working on it for a while and was so thrilled. He even called Grandma and Grandpa to share the good news and they chatted on FaceTime with him while they were in the middle of the grocery store.

First tooth – gone! (That hair! It grows & naturally works it’s way into that shape!)

We’ve had quite a bit of rain and the kiddos love to jump in the puddles so here they are splashing away. The alley behind our house has a lot of puddles so it makes for a perfect place to run and splash and play. Then we can zip back into the house and clean up. They had a great time!

In April Eli had Spring Break (which wasn’t very spring-like). At the end of that week Callie and I joined my sister Kristin and her team for the MS Walk in Bellingham while Andy took Eli and Luke to the Easter Fun Festival at our church.

We celebrated Easter with my family this year. All of my siblings were there as well as my Mom’s side of the family. My kids LOVE playing with their cousins (and my cousins); these family gatherings are a huge highlight for them.

Poor Eli came down with a fever at school. He told his teacher he was too tired to play at the very end of the day and he lay his head down and fell asleep.

Andy took a trip for a week to join a group of guys on a camping and hiking trip in southern Utah. My uncle plans a trip each Spring and has done so for many years. He always invites Andy along but it hasn’t been feasible in the past (work, finances, babies, adopting, small children, etc.) but this year it all fell into place. He had a great time! And boy did he deserve it! Andy hadn’t had a true vacation in nearly 5 years. Don’t get me wrong, he’s had time off from work here and there but never a time when he could be free of his work responsibilities both at his job and at home. It helps when you don’t have cell signal either.

And you know what? We did okay here too! Actually the week went really smoothly. The kids were great. I made dinner (I don’t usually do that), I mowed the lawn (I don’t ever do that), and I handled everything else too..and it wasn’t so bad. But by the time the week was over I was running out of steam. My applause goes out to single parents everywhere, and families with spouses away for long periods of time (military families and the like); parenting alone is exhausting work.

Just last week we celebrated Andy’s birthday! He is still older than me. :o)

Callie and I also ventured to Seattle Children’s again. This time to see the Ophthalmology department. We were there for a 3.5 hour long appointment. (That’s after the 2 hour drive there and before the 2 hour drive home.) Even though it is a trek we are thankful that we can receive care there. Ophthalmology is an area that really confuses me. I would like to say that I am more educated in that area now, but I don’t think that I am. I am hoping to improve upon my knowledge and understand exactly what Callie’s diagnosis and lens prescription mean for her in a follow up phone call next week. Anyone well versed in everything vision? You should fill me in.

Eli invited me to his Mother’s Day tea in his Kindergarten class. It doesn’t get much cuter than this folks. I had a great time! Just look at the sweet things he had for me.

We had a Mother’s Day BBQ at my parents house; which was really enjoyable. We had good weather and it was really nice to have all my siblings present with their families. My brother Adam and his wife Megan have a new little baby girl. Here is a picture of Callie holding her new little cousin.

That gets us up-to-date I think.

Oh and this…just because it is so adorable. Callie doesn’t usually nap, but she zonked out while reading during her quiet time a few days ago.

Everyone is doing really well. Happy, healthy(all things considered) and looking forward to some sunshine…I think it may finally be here.

Thanks for following along.

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February was filled with snow and not much else! It was very beautiful and quite unexpected since, as most of you know, we don’t usually get this much snow each winter. The snow was fun to play in but there were many days when it was too cold and especially too windy to enjoy it.

Having so much snow meant it was difficult to get around even for drivers, but it was impossible for me to walk around town given the size of the drifts, the amount of ice and the huge piles of snow that had been pushed onto the sidewalk by the plow. It didn’t matter too much since I didn’t have anywhere to go; school was cancelled and most places around town were closed too. So we hunkered down and played games, built with legos, baked, watched t.v. and tried to not get on either other’s nerves too much.

Heavy snowfall in our backyardLuke out with Andy for some sledding around the neighborhood.

Our snow covered neighborhood

The boys helped clear the walkways around our house by shoveling snow into buckets; which they used to create a fort. Callie and I stayed in where it was warm.

Callie and Luke decorated some Valentine’s cookies. They had a great time and they were very messy. There were also many health codes violated. (see Luke licking his fingers below)

Valentine’s Cookies

Just chillin’ in the laundry basket.

Andy does the majority of the cooking for our family and he makes both delicious and healthy food. Here he’s made me a salad and the kids a variety of tasty foods for lunch. Later he spent time with each of the kids as they made their very own homemade pizzas. He even makes the food look beautiful.

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I know that many, many people felt as if 2016 was a doozy! And we’d have to say we agree!

You’d hardly believe it but in the course of three months time, I was diagnosed with Epilepsy (you can read about that here), my sister, Kristin, was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis and my mom, Cindy, with Breast Cancer.

Can you imagine that?

This past summer my sister began experiencing vision difficulties; in particular she was having double vision. This symptom alone was puzzling (and annoying) and so she worked with her primary care doctor and eye doctor to determine a cause but they weren’t successful. Over time her vision problems improved but didn’t entirely resolve.

In early December Kristin mentioned to me, while visiting one day for lunch, that she was experiencing some numbness on one side of her body. She dismissed it as an injury or pinched nerve; but commented later that she could even feel it up her neck and into her head. We decided that didn’t sound as innocent as a pinched nerve.

A few days later, after her symptoms did not resolve, Kristin called her doctor and shared her symptoms; her doctor’s response, “Go directly to the ER.” So Kristin cancelled the hair appointment she was running late for and went straight to the emergency room where she met her husband, Brian. The rest of us prayed and tried our hardest not to text her too often and worry too much. While at the emergency room Kristin shared her symptoms with the doctors, who ordered a MRI of her brain. The neurologist on call that night (coincidentally the same neurologist I see) told her that the symptoms she is experiencing as well as the results of her MRI indicate that she has Multiple Sclerosis. Since that day Kristin has had several visits with her neurologist, further testing and imaging, and a confirmed diagnosis of Relapsing-Remitting Multiple Sclerosis.

Kristin has a great attitude about her diagnosis and continues to be upbeat. She is doing what she can to educate herself about the disease so that she can take care of herself in the best way possible. Of course a diagnosis of MS is frightening and worrisome, but Kristin has a great outlook. She also has a great support in her loving husband, Brian, who is taking care of her and living up to the his recent vows of commitment “in sickness and in health”.

Not long ago, her neurologist commented, “Wow! You guys are like the calmest couple ever! It makes meeting with you really easy.” Kristin attributes this to living life in such a way that you don’t give way to fear, instead trusting God, who has cared for us so well and will continue to do so. She also finds peace in believing that life on Earth is not everything, instead understanding that God has so much more in store for us.

Kristin is forming a team to walk in Bellingham on April 8th for the MS Walk. If you’d like to join her team and walk that day, she’d love it. Check out her MS team page here.

My mom, Cindy, and my sister, Kristin, on Kristin’s wedding day this past September

Shockingly the same day in December that my sister was diagnosed, my mom, Cindy, was informed that the results from a routine mammogram were not favorable and the doctors suspected that she had breast cancer. Further testing confirmed this suspicion.

What a week!

My mom spent much of December determining, with her doctors, what course of treatment would be the most effective in battling her cancer. One day in early December while we were all attempting to wrap our heads around these two new diagnosis, but before we really knew what it might mean for my sister or my mom, she said to me, “Can you imagine how panicked and fearful we might be if we did not have the beliefs that we do, if we did not have our hope in Jesus?” And that was just it, even though we’ve had times of sorrow and times of fear (or in my case mini tempertantrums because I can’t drive) we’ve all had a sense of peace about each of these health issues; Epilepsy, MS and Cancer.

After some testing, it was determined that my mom’s cancer was found early, giving her a good prognosis. My sweet mom has now undergone two surgeries; both lumpectomies. She is currently recovering from her most recent surgery and awaiting lab results that will determine the course of treatment as she moves forward; most likely 5-day-a-week radiation for a yet-undetermined number of weeks.

We know that a diagnosis such as cancer is scary and of course it is natural to feel anxiety or fear about the uncertainty it can bring, but my mom is doing her best to keep her eye on her recovery to wellness, trusting that God will walk with her each step of the way. We are so thankful that she has a loving, dedicated husband, my dad, who has been along side her each step of the way. And of course, my mom is doing just what all moms do, not worrying about herself as much as she is concerned about all of her children and grandchildren’s well-being. We love her so much.

I am doing very well, as far as my epilepsy is concerned and otherwise. My anticonvulsant medication is doing it’s job and I have been both seizure free and side-effect free for many months now. I am becoming increasingly excited to have the freedom to drive again, now only a little less than a month away.

It was a big year for us, filled with a lot of stress; both good and bad; much of which continues right into 2017. But we are looking ahead and praying for health and well being as we move forward. Of course we never know what we will face in life and so we must remember where our hope is found and treasure each day that we have together.

Thanks for following along.

Note: This post was shared with the permission of both my mom, Cindy, and my sister, Kristin.

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It has been a few months since I have posted anything to the blog. It has been a slow few months at home but at the same time so much has happened. We have not been out of the house much due to illness (having a kindergarten student has exposed us to so much sickness this year). It is also very difficult for us to go places with my new diagnosis and subsequent inability to drive.

We spent the beginning of November staying close to home so that we wouldn’t pick up any new illnesses in order to keep Callie healthy for surgery.

Morning snugglesAfter school reading on a warm(ish) November day.She loves the kitty shirt and kitty pants!She also loves the kitties. Here she is watching them in their natural habitat while studying from her cat book. :o)

On the 20th of November, Andy took the boys on what was originally supposed to be a special day for the boys and I in Seattle. We couldn’t figure out a way to keep Callie away from illness other than to keep her home and since I cannot drive right now, she and I stayed home to play together and the boys headed to Seattle.

Andy took Eli and Luke to the Pike Place Market, where they had donuts and later Mac and Cheese at Beecher’s. They loved spying all the tower cranes (apparently Seattle has the most of any city in the US right now). A big highlight of the day was riding on the South Lake Union Streetcar. The day culminated with the RaffiConcert at the Moore Theatre.

At Pike Place MarketMini DonutsWaiting for the StreetcarRiding on the StreetcarLooking over the balcony while waiting for the concert to begin

A few days later we were counting our blessings that everyone was healthy and heading to Seattle Children’s Hospital for Callie’s palate surgery and ear tube placement. Our experience there was really phenomenal this time and they took great care of Callie. Her surgery began early in the afternoon and lasted 5 hours! We finally got to see her at 9pm and she was sleeping peacefully. She handled everything very well.

Awaiting SurgeryComforting Callie as she falls asleep following surgery.

We celebrated Callie’s third birthday with fun birthday decor, birthday gifts, a visit from Grandma and Grandpa and ice cream! Callie had a blast opening presents of her very own. Her favorite gift was a big book of stickers; and she went through them all by the day’s end.

Happy Birthday Callie!Happy Birthday Callie!Happy Birthday Callie! She could even blow out her own candles because now that her palate is closed and she can force enough air through her mouth.

In early December, a few weeks following surgery we took the family to find our Christmas tree. Grandma and Grandpa joined us on the hunt.

Christmas Tree HuntingGrandpa and CallieDecorating the Tree

Christmas Crafts

We were all hoping to have some snow this year since the last few years we haven’t had much (if any). So far we haven’t been disappointed. The boys love to play in the snow and Andy has been a trooper spending lots of time playing, pulling sleds and taking them sledding locally. Callie and I love the look of the snow but prefer to be inside watching.

Playing in the first snow of the season!Eli looking like such a big kid.Luke’s first snow experience. He is thrilled.Snowy ride to school

We had a great Christmas celebrating together. We spent time with both sides of our family. We all had a fun time opening gifts, visiting with family and eating good food.

Merry Christmas

For each of our kids’ first Christmas’ we have purchased them their very own sleeping bag so that we can camp together in the summer. The boys got their sleeping bags when they were just babies and now that Callie is a part of our family she has one too. She has a little growing into it to do, but she seems to like it. :o)

Callie’s new sleeping bag.

Andy took the week off between Christmas and New Year so we headed to Seattle again as a family to do some exploring and to visit the Flight Museum. There was so much to see!

Seattle Flight Museum

Sleepy girl after a long day!

This January we didn’t get out much either, but we did have fun together at home.

Next Year’s Halloween Costume?Exploring WWU on a Winter DayWWUWWUThis boy speaks my love language; Fixer Upper.During the cold weather, the cat Rocky, got to join us inside. Eli has finally reached an age where he can be calm around the cats; the three year olds, not-so-much.In Blaine at Marine ParkWinter WalkNew Glasses Frames for CallieXi’an Noodle after a pediatric Doctor appointment at UW Medicine in SeattleShe is so proud that she gets to use chopsticks to feed herself!

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I want to write a bit about how Callie is doing post surgery so that those of you who have followed along and prayed for our family during the past few months (and beyond) can hear about her progress.

Callie is doing exceptionally well following the surgery to close her palate and place tubes in her ears. We are, again, amazed at her resilience and her positive attitude.

Andy and Callie visited the audiologist, surgeon and ENT at Seattle Children’s on Monday December 5th and the report was fantastic; she is hearing well and healing well. We could have told you about the ‘hearing well’ part because the change has been astounding!

One of the immediate results of her surgery was that Callie went from having severe hearing loss to having normal hearing! It has been amazing to watch. We knew that Callie could hear very little because she wasn’t startling to loud sounds, she didn’t notice when someone walked into the room unless she could see them, she didn’t respond to her name, and she was not learning English(receptive language) at a rate that you’d expect for a child her age. We also knew she had severe hearing loss because she had an audiology exam in September and the results matched up with what we were noticing at home.

Each day it has been exciting to celebrate with her as she learns to make new sounds and attempt new words. Not only is she learning to speak new words and make new sounds; but she can hear us clearly and her receptive language has flourished. It is so awesome to be able to give Callie complex instructions in complete sentences; often without any signs at all and watch her carry out the task.

I have been trying to teach Callie that she can call for me when she needs me but she hasn’t been able to say “Mama” very clearly or loudly up until this point and she didn’t seem to understand the concept quite yet. Now she calls for me all day long! “Mama! Mama! Mama! Mommy! Mommy!”

Callie has learned to say “yeah” very clearly as well as “yes”. She is still working on saying “no” although she has her own version of “no” and can sign it very well as she rapidly shakes her head. The freedom to ask her yes or no questions has helped immensely.

Now she is repeating every thing we say and each day we hear more and more words that we hadn’t before! Many of these words aren’t very clear yet, but she is doing awesome none-the-less; especially considering that she is similar to a two-month-old in terms of hearing and language development!

Callie has learned to say “book” and she loves Old MacDonald had a farm so she signs along as we say each animal and then sings “eee-iii, eee-iii, eee-iii” throughout the day. She can say “bye” and “c-ya” fairly well and recently waved and said these things to each customer who left the Xi’an Noodle restaurant in Seattle when Andy took her out for lunch on follow-up appointment day. She can now say “cat” and “eat” very clearly. We also hear her own versions that resemble nigh-night, get it, uh-oh, banana, Eli, Luke, Mama, Dada (whom she calls Gaga), please, bath, house, hat, wash, down, up, teeth, truck, and more.

Eating at Xi’an Noodle with Dad after follow up appointment

Now that she can hear, she is dancing to music all the time; which is quite adorable. She is also reading short books with us and understanding why we linger on the pages.

Callie has finished the 5 weeks of food restrictions and is back to eating normally (she is thrilled). And she can feed herself now which saves me a ton of time.

Later this week she will begin weekly speech therapy at WWU.

Thank you for praying for Callie and our family during this time.

And once again, thanks for following along.

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Prior to our trip to China to bring Callie home, I began sleeping poorly with vivid and excessive dreaming and I was having frequent headaches, but I passed it off as stress related to the adoption process. In all likelihood, this was probably stress related, and as any adoptive parent can tell you, the last few weeks before meeting your child are full of stressful moments.

After returning from China I began to have some additional symptoms. Randomly I would have a strong sense of deja vu, but more intense than the fleeting sense of having been here or done that. It was like a dream state in my brain that felt very familiar and made me feel distant. It would be accompanied by a sense that I may lose consciousness, so I would usually sit or lay down, just in case. I did remain conscious and though I could hear and see what was happening around me, I was slow to respond and had a distant look in my eyes. I also became nauseous and had a strange pressure in my abdomen. As the feelings would subside; usually about a minute or two after they began, I would get a headache or a worsened headache and feel exhausted (even more so), like I needed to go right to sleep.

Eventually I became more bothered by these episodes and more curious about what might be happening, so I did what every person who wants to scare their socks off does, I googled my symptoms.

What I found surprised me. When I typed in my symptoms; deja vu, headaches, strange level of consciousness, etc. I found repeated websites describing epilepsy; focal seizures specifically of the temporal lobe. I even found some threads on an epilepsy website where people with Temporal Lobe Epilepsy detailed exactly what I was experiencing.

Ultimately I did go to see my doctor about these symptoms, mostly because the constant headache I’d been experiencing for nearly two months and the poor sleep was making my life a challenge. She was concerned and consulted a neurologist who recommended a brain MRI; it came back normal, which I am incredibly grateful for, since I know the doctors were looking for a possible brain tumor or other structural abnormalities in my brain.

A couple weeks went by and my symptoms seemed to resolve, until one morning, coincidentally the morning of my sister’s wedding, I walked outside to the car in the driveway and opened the back hatch to place some extra clothing and items for the kids in the back. I felt a super strong sense of deja vu come on; much stronger than ever before only this time I didn’t sit or lay down. It had been a few weeks since my last episode but I knew the routine so I leaned into the back of our SUV and figured I would wait until it passed. Only this time it was different. I remember thinking that my symptoms felt really intense and the next thing I knew I was waking up on the concrete of the driveway with a bloodied elbow and a bruised head. I’d lost consciousness and slumped out of the car onto the concrete (at least I am guessing that’s what happened); my fancy updo and my elbow broke my fall.

Surprisingly I felt okay afterwards, so I got up and walked into the house and announced to Andy what had happened (he was getting Callie ready for the wedding and unaware that anything was amiss). Then I called the on-call doctor who instructed me not to drive that day, told me I should probably get an EEG and if it happened again to call 911 or head straight to the ER, but otherwise to enjoy my sister’s wedding. So I did. We had a great time celebrating Kristin and Brian and I just kept that little loss of consciousness a secret from my sister so she wouldn’t have more on her mind that day.

I visited my doctor again the following week and as luck would have it, I had another episode right in her office. This time I maintained consciousness and was able to communicate a bit about what was happening . She was able to see what I was experiencing and set up an EEG; she was also able to get me into see the neurologist a month and a half earlier than their “next available appointment”.

After a bit of an emotional roller coaster (we think you might be having seizures, no we aren’t sure what is going on but think you are okay, oh wait…turns out you are having seizures!) my neurologist called me at home to inform me that my EEG did indicate that I was having seizures in my left temporal lobe, which was consistent with my symptoms. He diagnosed me with Temporal Lobe Epilepsy. He explained his concerns: continued seizures, increasing in frequency and intensity, likelihood of loss of consciousness and risk of serious injury or death. We also discussed the course of action moving forward; medication and no driving for at least 6 months – per Washington State law.

By this point I’d had 50 or more seizures that I was aware of; and possibly more while I had been sleeping; waking me throughout the night.

Ultimately it is good to have a diagnosis (even though not the one I’d hoped for) and to be on medication that is addressing the problem. Epilepsy is a chronic disorder and likely something I will deal with for life; I haven’t quite wrapped my mind around that yet. For now I feel inconvenienced by not being able to drive anywhere. It takes a fair amount of coordination to plan for appointments and activities outside of the house.

I am very thankful for the way that it unfolded and that I was protected from serious injury when I lost consciousness in my driveway. I am thankful that I didn’t lose consciousness while I was driving, standing at the top of my stairs, alone at home, etc. I am thankful that these partial seizures didn’t inhibit my ability to care for my kids (they weren’t even aware anything was going on) and that the kids weren’t put into a difficult situation in the event I did lose consciousness when no other adult was home.

I am also thankful for the timing; which was clearly well planned by God. I think about the timing often. If I had been diagnosed with epilepsy prior to our adoption of Callie, would I have changed my thoughts on adding another child to the family? Would China’s Center for Children’s Welfare and Adoption have accepted us as adoptive parents since their requirements read, “Both the husband and wife must be physically and mentally fit and must not have any of the following conditions … h. Severe diseases that require long-term treatment and that affect life expectancy, including malignant tumors, lupus, nephrosis, epilepsy…”? What if I began having seizures while we were in process for Callie, would that have changed the outcome, could we have missed our daughter? What if I had begun having seizures while we were in China away from familiar medical care? All of these questions lead me to believe, even more so, that God was holding me in the palm of His hand, protecting me and that Callie was meant to be our daughter and us her parents. And I am so thankful that the timing worked out the way it did.

For now the kids and I will be walking to our destinations around town in the coming months; to the library, to the donut shop, to school, to the park, to shops and stores downtown so please wave hello if you see us.

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It has been 6 months since we first held Callie in our arms. Tomorrow will mark 6 months of her officially being a Koehn. We are so thankful that she is in our family. She is a spunky little ball of sunshine. She is full of joy and life and she laughs and giggles A LOT (even when she is being a stinker).

We are continually impressed with how well she has transitioned to life in our family; she has made it very easy on us. She has also made incredible growth in development. She has grown from size 12 month to 2T in 6 months too!

We’ve learned she loves bunnies and kitties. She is an excellent helper and always wants to help me put away laundry, dishes, shoes, coats, etc. and she readily helps me clean up toys. (Which is a HUGE difference from her brothers at this age!) She gets so excited to help me put things away and she is actually a help; she remembers where everything goes in the kitchen and what clothes go in which drawers, the only hinderance to her being when she cannot reach to put it away. She also loves to draw and color. She has learned that books aren’t for throwing and ripping(most of the time) and now will sit and look at pictures; her current favorite is Old MacDonald Had a Farm (the horse page is a hit). She loves to be outside and will run around squealing and giggling or ride along on her little scoot bike while her brothers zoom on their bikes. If she could she would spend much of her time at the park swinging on the swing.

She has powered through a bunch of developmental milestones since she has been home too and now behaves a lot like you’d expect a 2 year old might – temper tantrums and all. I never thought I would actually rejoice when my child started throwing fits about not getting their way; but this is so sweet because it means she is on track and that she is comfortable with us enough to show us how she really feels. She is working as hard as she can to learn to speak (which is pretty difficult when your palate hasn’t been repaired and you have significant hearing loss). She calls me “Mama” along with the sign for “Mom” and she calls Andy “Gaga”(we love that one) with the sign for “Dad”. She also says the boys names; Eli is “E-la” and Luke is the “k” sound. She has also learned many signs and to recognize even more that we sign to her. We love to watch her run and jump and climb. She readily gives us hugs and kisses too; watching her pucker her lips is down right adorable.

She has attached well to us and us to her as well. I remember well the days when she would easily have gone into anyone’s arms; she waved and smiled at anyone and everyone and she did not have a grasp on the fact that we were mom and dad; but not anymore. Recently while we swung into the post office to pick up some stamps another customer in line was being friendly and talking to Callie; but Callie stayed close and leaned away into my shoulder instead of reaching her arms out to be picked up by this stranger; it was a sweet reminder that she is learning I am her mom.

We are so thankful that God led us to Callie and that he made it clear to us that we were supposed to welcome her into our forever family; one look at the picture below and we knew. We are so thankful that she is our daughter! Happy 6 months home sweet girl!

The first photo we saw of Callie. August 2015Family Day in Xi’an – May 15Our beautiful girl waiting to meet us, her forever parents.